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Jamie Olivers rant about packed lunches.

516 replies

misdee · 08/09/2006 07:11

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamie Oliver, the television chef famous for his crusade to improve school dinners, lashed out at parents on Thursday over the food they give to their children.

Speaking at the launch of his new TV programme, Oliver said 70 percent of packed lunches in were "disgraceful" and he would like to see them banned.

He said the decisions parents made regarding the diets of their children
were sometimes just plain wrong.
"I've spent two years being politically correct about parents but it's time to say, if you're giving your young kids fizzy drinks, you're an a*hole and a tosser," Oliver said.

"If you give them bags of crisps, you're an idiot. If you aren't cooking them a hot meal, sort it out."

Oliver said headteachers were too frightened of some parents to tell them what they should give their child to bring to school.

He was particularly critical of parents who give their children Red Bull an energy drink when they are tired, saying it was not much better than giving them a line of cocaine.

Oliver's new programme, "Jamie's Return to School Dinners", is a follow-up to his successful Channel 4 series on improving school meals.

OP posts:
SnowFall · 15/09/2006 17:43

I grew up abroad and we were certaily never allowed to leave the school to get junk food for lunch. I was actually shocked to discover that this was an option here.
Kids are kids, that's why you have to tell them what to eat while you still have a say in things.

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 17:45

Daisymoo...trouble was they were the brain donors

We don't let our kids off site at lunch. In fact I can't think of a school in the city that does.

NotAnOtter · 15/09/2006 17:53

read some twonker in the times today saying Jamie was full of crap and yes he put crisps in his dd's lunchboxes.
I wanted to say' its not big and its not clever'
He was making out it was a problem that parents were being told what to do.
THE PROBLEM is quite simply that parents daren't tell their children what to do and would rather fill there stomachs with crap than risk being unpopular

Sorry ! Along the lines of what you are saying..our local high school cannot fit all the yeargroups in the buildings at lunchtimes so years 10/11have to mill around town eating sausage rolls...it was a deciding factor in me sending my children elsewhwere to school

NotAnOtter · 15/09/2006 17:54

their

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:03

NAO

With the exception of those parents of children with SEN who cannot acept specific foods/textures etc

'THE PROBLEM is quite simply that parents daren't tell their children what to do' OHHHHH How right you are!!!!!!

FFS We are the adults

NotAnOtter · 15/09/2006 18:04

thats what i think it all boils down to martianBishop !

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:06

You are so right I want to have your babies

It is the root cause of 95% of all the behavioural probelms I see in school (again SEN exempted)

Kids are simply not told 'No, you can't'. So when I tell them, they go apeshit mental!

PeachyClairHasBadHair · 15/09/2006 18:06

The kids here all leave at lunchtime in Senior School- you can tell what they're eating by whether they head for the chippy / sweet shop, the deli or the bakery (pasties and mayo packed baguettes). Deli is best, none do fresh fruit or veg. Not sure what they're supposed to do, TBH, poor kids. Most of them live miles out.

Can't believe those Mums in Yorkshire- beyong belief. I don't think a bag of crips / choc bar on a Friday matter a jot, and indeed mine get a flapjack (home amde) most days, but it HAS TO BE BALANCED. They migght get a flapjack, they also get an apple and plenty of fruit and veg

Pastarito · 15/09/2006 18:06

I'd be horrified if there was a pair of women like that hanging around my child's school dishing out burgers and chips.

joelallie · 15/09/2006 18:08

That is so true! I sometime find myself about to launch into yet another round of negotiations with my kids about something or other when I get a light bulb moment... "Oh yes, I'm the grown-up here. They have to do what I say! Hurray"

NotAnOtter · 15/09/2006 18:10

Martian - fantastic to have someone agree! I am like it over a lot of things and its the hard route. A woman in a chemist laughed at me today beacuse my ds (age 3) asked me for a lolly and i replied 'absolutely not!' ...no pussyfooting around /bribing/distracting just 'no'!!! thats the way i try to parent - although its the hard way at first - it pays dividends!!!

sorrell · 15/09/2006 18:12

I just heard that chip woman on Radio 5. She sounded like utter dim-witted scum. Made me furious. Taking chip shop chips in a stolen supermarket trolley to peddle the stuff through the school gates. Stupid, stupid, stupid woman. "Children should have the right to eat what they want" she says. And it is that attitude, I'm afraid, that I think is the problem.

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:14

It does, long term.

trouble is that people are so shagged out at the end of the day that they don't have the energy to go 10 rounds with their kids. And also if you only see your kids for a few hours each day, you don't want to be the 'tough cop'. But you have to!

I always tell the kids in my classes. I have three rules.

  1. No one talks when I am talking
  2. You do all your homework
  3. You do what I tell you because I told you to do it.

Once they realise I mean it, we all have a great time.

sorrell · 15/09/2006 18:14

And yes if she was hanging around my kids school I would be completely livid.
What next, 'Kids should be allowed to decide if they want to drink alcopops or not"

Pastarito · 15/09/2006 18:18

Where does this lack of parenting confidence come from? Is it to do with being told from day 1 to be child-led or is it to do with people being too busy and life being too hectic or is it do with extended family fragmentation (equalling less support of parents by other adults with authority in a child's life)or what?

I also suffer sometimes from this business of negotiating and have to give myself the occasional reality check. Children need boundaries.

Re. the food thing, my ds1 switched to school dinners in year 1 (now year 3) and had so much more energy and could concentrate better in class in the afternoons afterwards, even though I had tried to give him a good, healthy, (wholemeal sandwhiches, fruit, carrot batons, water to drink etc) packed lunch, so I can see JO's point about school lunches v packed lunches, as long as the school lunches are ok.

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:20

All of those things and the feeling that you have to be perfect and a 'professional' parent.

Parents are so terrified of making a mistake (and most mistakes are not the end of the world if we are being rational), that they don't make any choices.

We feel that we have to give out kids a perfectly happy childhood, when in fact that is impossible to do and probably bad for the child....all kids have to learn to live with disapointments

sorrell · 15/09/2006 18:21

It is part of the aggressive culture of entitlement IMO
I'm pleased people are no longer cringingly deferential, but my God, I think it has swung too far the other way sometimes.

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:23

yes, that somehow children and adults are complete equals....well guess what, we are not

I tell this to kids in school. lots!

I love the following, a bit american but I love the points made

'Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you screw up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. '

Greensleeves · 15/09/2006 18:34

"the aggressive culture of entitlement" God, yes, that's so well put. It sums up the whole sorry mess.

Greensleeves · 15/09/2006 18:34

MB, I've seen that before, it's brilliant and so true

Greensleeves · 15/09/2006 18:36

especially Rule 7 - rofl

Pastarito · 15/09/2006 18:38

Like the 'be nice to nerds' line.

Blandmum · 15/09/2006 18:39

Greesleaves I swear to you that the following is true.

A few years ago I taught a middle set class of year 7 kids...ages 11-12. I had set them the task of making a poster and had told them that the first job was to put in some science, then make it look nice with any remaining time.

After 5 minutes I held up a good example, and pointed out the things I thought was good. Another boy, with no special needs asked me if I thought his poster was good....he had spent 5 minutes cutting out a wavy line. Now I remind you these are NT, average intelegence 11-12 year olds, not 6 year olds!

So I told him no I didn't think it was good. He looked as if I'd slapped him. He then worked on task and produced an excellet poster, which I duly praised.

If I'd praised his wavy line, he wouldn't have bothered to work.

southeastastra · 15/09/2006 18:41

wow mb i'm going to print that list off and put it in my 12 year olds room!

sheepgomeep · 16/09/2006 10:00

Twinklea I'm twelvecloud it's great that you are so perfect. every child is different. I've had my own probs which I've overcome and my kids are well behaved secure individuals and I'm proud of what I've achieved. You can label me as lazy etc but I really don't care. I know I'm a good parent and I'm sitting here with a smile on my face

As for my four yr old in a buggy round town she walks everywhere else and its not for every trip!!!! And I am teaching her and she is better than what she was six months ago. I'd rather train her in my own way and make sure she's safe than listen to a mumsnetter who judges me with out knowing myself and my little family.

And for what its worth my dd was just 3 and I persuaded her to give her dummy and I'm VERY proud of that.

Bad parents are those who don't care, who neglect them, don't feed them, beat them leave them on thier own to fend for themselves, sexually abuse them.

I am none of these. My kids eat well, eat fruit, don't watch a lot of telly, are active, walk everywhere (apart from town (dd) are kind and loving and respectful

I think I've done a BLOODY good job.